


A Night To Forget and A Night To Remember

by MandaWrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Kidge Week 2016, alcohol use, prompt: AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-31 22:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8595544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandaWrites/pseuds/MandaWrites
Summary: Keith gets drunk and winds up at Pidge's apartment. Characters are aged up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had a few ideas for AUs, but I decided to go with a college AU. The characters are aged up to be in their early 20s. And I thought it'd be fun to attempt to write a drunk Keith. (Headcanon that he gets really affectionate with everyone when he's drunk.) Also, while this isn't really that sexual and is intended to be fluffy, it is the most mature thing I've written for Kidgeweek. So, be aware of that. Written for the AU prompt for Kidgeweek.

_Sometimes it sucks to be the "responsible" friend_ Hunk thought to himself. Keith could at least kind of walk, but Lance was so drunk there was no way he'd be able to make it home if it hadn't been for Hunk.

"Hey Keith! See that stop sign? I'm gonna steal it!" Lance slurred as he feebly tried to walk on his own.

"No you're not," sighed Hunk, catching Lance as he stumbled.

"Not if I get there first!" Keith tried to run but tripped and fell instead. "Wait, how did this ground get here?" Keith patted the sidewalk. "And why is it so hard?"

Hunk let out a long-suffering sigh and helped Keith back up without letting go of Lance. They were almost to the apartment building, so all he had to do was get them up the stairs and into their shared student apartment.

"Hunk, have I ever told you that you're a really good friend?" Keith swung his arms wildly in an attempt to pull Hunk into a hug.

"Every time you get drunk, Keith."

"You are. You are an awesome person."

"Wait, wait, wait, what about me?" Lance piped in.

"You? You're an asshole!" Keith slurred.

"But. I'm a _good_ asshole, right?"

"You're my _favorite_ asshole!"

They successfully made it to the breezeway, but getting up the stairs was rather difficult. Hunk was buzzed, Lance couldn't walk, and Keith seemed to have forgotten how stairs work. They stumbled their way up to the second floor, one stair at a time. Once they made it to the top of the flight of stairs, Hunk let go of Lance and started fumbling in his pocket to find his key. _Almost there_. Suddenly, he felt Lance grab his arm.

"Hunk… I… Uh…" was all Lance was able to get out before throwing up over the balcony. He stumbled around a little bit before sitting down, clinging to the railing.

Hunk turned toward the door and fumbled with his keys some more before opening the door to the apartment. He turned back around to gather his roommates but only saw Lance.

 _Oh crap, where did Keith go?_ Hunk decided to get Lance safely into the apartment before finding Keith. He knelt down and tried to get Lance to let go of the railing.

"Come on, let's get inside."

"No."

"Lance, let go of the railing."

"No. The railing loves me."

Hunk started to pry Lance's hands off of the railing. "NO!" Lance screamed as he tried to hold on. Hunk pulled Lance away from the railing and dragged him into the apartment before pulling out his phone to call Keith.

* * *

 

As Lance was throwing up over the balcony, Keith started to make his way up the next flight of stairs. He had finally gotten the hang of it, but had to stop every few steps to regain his balance. Once he made it to the top of the stairs, he stumbled to the other side of the breezeway and started knocking on the door of the apartment on the left until it opened.

"Pidge!" he exclaimed as he wobbled slightly before anchoring himself on the doorway.

"Oh my G-, you're wasted!" Pidge stepped back to let Keith stumble into her apartment. She considered walking him back down to his apartment, but she didn't like the idea of him possibly tripping and falling down the stairs. All of a sudden, Keith's phone started ringing. Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Hello?"

Pidge shook her head. Not only was the phone still ringing, he was holding it upside down. She took the phone and looked to see who was calling before answering.

"Hey Hunk!"

"Pidge? Is Keith with you?"

"Yeah, he's here and he's drunk."

"He and Lance both got wasted tonight. Keith wandered off while I was unlocking the do-Lance, No!"

Pidge heard something shatter in the background. She sighed. "I'll take care of Keith tonight. It sounds like you've got your hands full with Lance."

"Thanks, Pidge. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

Pidge hung up the phone and turned to see what Keith was doing. He was trying to read some of the notes that Pidge had spread out on the dining table.

"I don't- I don't understand any of this."

"Well, it's for an upper-level robotics class, so…"

"You're such a nerd," Keith said affectionately.

Pidge guided him to a chair. "Sit down. I'm going to get you some water and then you're going to sleep here tonight. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"It's really hot in here. Are you hot? I'm really hot." Keith tried to pull his jacket off but somehow managed to get tangled up instead. Pidge brought a glass of water for Keith and rolled her eyes as she helped him out of the jacket. As soon as he drank all that he was going to drink, she pulled him out of the chair and started guiding him into the bedroom.

"Wait!" Keith called. He stumbled back to where the jacket was laying and held it up. "This is really important. I _cannot_ lose it. It's _really_ important."

"Um… Ok." responded Pidge. Keith clutched the jacket and let Pidge lead him into the bedroom.

"Pidge, you are the _best_ girlfriend _ever_."

"I know."

"I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, but you need to go to sleep. You're drunk." Pidge tried to guide him toward the bed but he resisted.

"No, I really mean it. I really, _really_ love you. A lot." Keith started fumbling through the pockets on the jacket. "I want us to be together forever. Forever and ever. Always." Keith pulled a small box out of his pocket and tried to give it to Pidge but dropped it instead.

"I… Um… That…" Keith motioned to the box on the floor. He carelessly tossed his jacket aside.

Pidge picked up the box and opened it.

A diamond ring.

There was a diamond ring inside of the box.

Pidge couldn't breathe. "Keith, wh-"

"Oh no."

Pidge snapped the box closed and quickly dragged Keith into the bathroom. They made it to the toilet just in time for Keith to throw up. Pidge rubbed his back until he finished then helped him walk back into the bedroom.

"Pidge, I really mean it though. I _love_ you." Keith wrapped his arms around Pidge's waist and pulled her close. He leaned down to kiss her but she turned her head, definitely not wanting to kiss him right after he had thrown up. Instead, she felt his lips press against her neck. She stepped back in surprise, tripped, and the two of them crashed into her bed.

Keith ran his fingers through Pidge's hair. "You're so… beautiful…" he said before passing out on top of her. Pidge tried to get up, but with Keith on top of her holding her tightly, she could barely move. Instead, she just adjusted herself so she was a little more comfortable and brushed his hair out of his face. Keith was very headstrong and rash but she did love him.

She opened the box that she was still holding on to and pulled out the ring. It had a small diamond and coming out from the diamond the band was twisted in the shape of a few leaves. She stared at it for a long time, admiring its beauty and thinking about a future with Keith. Once she made up her mind, she slid the ring on her finger. It was a little big, but seeing an engagement ring on her finger sent a warm feeling through her chest. She closed her eyes and listened to Keith's steady breathing as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Keith groaned. He was suddenly _painfully_ aware of every little thing going on around him - the throbbing headache he woke up with, the sunlight peeping in through the window, the shoes that were still on his feet… He groaned again and pulled whatever he was holding closer. It _squeaked_. He opened his eyes, his vision blurry and his head spinning.

"Pidge?"

"Keith, are you awake?"

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Good. Get off of me."

Keith groaned and laid still. The _last_ thing he wanted to do was move.

"At least let go of me so I can get up. I've had to pee for like an hour."

Keith reluctantly let go of Pidge and she dashed to the bathroom, taking her warmth with her. He laid by himself and tried to piece together what had happened last night. He, Lance, and Hunk had taken the bus a to get to Shiro's place a few towns over. He had wanted to show Shiro the ring he had picked out to give to Pidge. After visiting for a while, Lance insisted they take Keith out to celebrate.

"But I didn't even ask her yet," Keith had argued.

"Dude, she's crazy in love with you. There's no way she'll say no," Lance argued back. Keith told himself that he wouldn't drink much, he didn't want to get drunk and lose the ring. But he's never been good at backing down from a challenge, especially a challenge from Lance.

His memory after that was spotty at best. He didn't remember leaving the bar, let alone somehow winding up in Pidge's apartment. At least, that's where he assumed he was. He didn't care too much because at least he was somewhere safe and comfortable. He worried briefly if he still had the ring, but his head was pounding so bad that it wouldn't let him worry too much.

Pidge came back soon with a tall glass of water. "Here, drink this," she said gently.

Keith sat up with a little help from Pidge and chugged the entire glass.

"Does that help?" Pidge asked, gently stroking Keith's hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah." Keith shifted himself so that he was laying down again. "I'm never drinking again."

"Good," Pidge replied. She refilled his water glass before climbing across him and settling down, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. She let him bury his head in her chest while she gently stroked his hair. They laid like that for a long time, the only sound being Keith's occasional groaning in pain.

A few hours passed, and Keith felt well enough to sit up again. Pidge had dozed off and was sleeping lightly. She stirred when she felt him moving around.

"My jacket," Keith said, trying to stand up. He made it partway up before a wave of dizziness hit him and he fell back into the bed, head in his hands.

"It's on the floor." Pidge got out of bed and picked up the glass of water. "Here, drink some more." Keith reached out to accept the glass but when he noticed Pidge's ring, he sat the glass down instead and took her left hand into both of his hands.

"Um… Did I… Uh…"

"Um, kind of?"

Keith let go of Pidge's hand, letting his head drop back into his hands. "Oh man."

"Don't worry about it." Pidge held up the glass again. "Drink some more water."

Keith accepted the water gratefully. "I was waiting for the right time to ask. I wanted it to be memorable."

"It was _definitely_ memorable. Well, at least for me." Pidge gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. Keith pulled her closer so she was sitting on his lap.

"No. I want to do it right. Tonight at 8, come down to my apartment and I'll do it the right way."

"You don't have to. You know that I don't care about all that mushy stuff."

"I _want_ to." Keith kissed Pidge's cheek. "I want to remember this too."

"… Ok. I'll be there at 8."

"Great!" Keith tried a second time to stand up and was more successful this time. He was a little unsteady, his stomach churning, but he managed to walk over and grab his jacket off of the floor. He stumbled over to the front door. "I'd better get ready!" he called to Pidge before making his way down the stairs and across the breezeway to his apartment.

Pidge shook her head as she wondered what, exactly, Keith had in mind.

* * *

 

"How do I look?" Pidge asked her roommate. Pidge was wearing a dark green silk shirt with a black knee-length skirt. In her hair was a flower which was the same shade of green as her shirt, and a pair of silver earrings delicately peeked out from under her hair.

"You look beautiful!" Shay responded excitedly.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. As soon as Pidge opened the door, she was swept up by Hunk into a tight bear-hug.

"Pidge! I hope you have a great evening!" Hunk practically yelled. He released her and stepped into the apartment to greet Shay. Behind him was Lance. He looked uneasy, as though he was still a little hungover, but he also seemed to be barely holding back some laughter.

"Keith kicked us out, so we came here to hang out with Shay." Lance put his hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Have a good-" he started to say, but instead he ended up having a fit of laughter. Pidge shot a questioning look toward Hunk.

"Keith told us what happened," Hunk explained. "Lance thought it was hilarious, but Keith's actually pretty upset about it and he's doing his best to make this night really special. He's going all-out."

Pidge nodded at Hunk before walking down to Keith's apartment. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door opened slowly and Keith was standing on the other side of it. He looked so much better than he did that morning - he had taken a shower and was even wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt. His expression was a mix of excitement and nervousness, but he also looked awestruck when he saw Pidge.

"You look amazing."

Pidge pulled Keith down to her level so she could kiss him.

"So do you," she responded.

Keith guided her into the apartment. _Hunk wasn't kidding about Keith going all-out_ Pidge thought to herself as she looked around. It was mostly dark, the only lights being a few candles and a small light from the kitchenette. The usual mess had been cleaned and there was even a _tablecloth_ on the table.

Keith pulled out a chair for Pidge to sit down. "I really wanted to make this special for you."

"It looks great in here," Pidge replied.

Keith walked over to the kitchenette to finish preparing the food he had cooked. After a moment, he walked back around to the dining table.

"I wanted to cook you a nice steak dinner but, um, I can't afford steak," he explained before putting a plate in front of Pidge. The plate contained mashed potatoes from a box, beans from a can, and a hamburger. Pidge smiled at the effort.

"This is perfect." Keith smiled and the two of them began eating.

Once they were nearing the end of the meal, Keith started speaking in a serious tone.

"So, Pidge," he started. "We've known each other since we were young teenagers, and we've been dating for several years now."

Pidge's heart started racing. The candlelight created just the right atmosphere and with how serious and nervous Keith's tone was, she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"I've been thinking a lot about the future, and I… I can't imagine life without you."

Keith kneeled down and took Pidge's already-ringed hand into his hands. Pidge could feel her face flush a little.

"Pidge. _Katie_. Will you marry me?"

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and Keith's heart was pounding so loud that he almost missed Pidge's answer.

"Yes!" she squeaked.

Keith stood up and pulled Pidge out of her chair so he could kiss her. They wrapped their arms around each other and held each other tightly, both excited to make their engagement official. Neither of them wanted to let go of each other or of this moment. This was the first of many wonderful moments in their new life they were about to build together.

Eventually, Keith pulled back to ask her another question.

"Would you like some dessert? Hunk made brownies."

Pidge let her hands drop so she could find Keith’s hand and squeeze it. "That sounds delicious."

**Author's Note:**

> In a strange turn of events, Hunk is the one NOT throwing up!!
> 
> It was maddkat who turned me onto the idea that Keith uses Pidge’s real name in more serious/tender moments.
> 
> Also, this is what I imagine the ring to look like, at least something like that, keeping with the whole “nature” theme with Pidge.
> 
> (http://image.brilliantearth.com/media/cache/ae/89/ae89871a6ff56921f417b43f16812934.jpg)


End file.
